Toddler dies after drinking methadone

A 23-month-old New Brunswick girl who ingested methadone last week has died.

The toddler died at the IWK Health Centre in Halifax on Wednesday, RCMP Const. Chantal Farrah said in a news release Thursday.

The girl, whose name hasn't been released, had been in critical condition since drinking the drug, which is used to treat pain as well as opiate addictions.

The death is being treated as suspicious and is being investigated by the RCMP's major crime unit, Farrah said.

"We are investigating the circumstances that led to the child ingesting methadone," she said. "If anyone has any information, as in any case, they can assist us with this file by contacting the Caledonia RCMP and provide their information."

Farrah said anyone with information can also call Crime Stoppers.

Delay calling for help

On Jan. 8, officers and paramedics were called to a home in Havelock, in southeast New Brunswick. Police believe the girl may have swallowed the methadone up to 24 hours before the 911 call was made, Farrah said.

The girl was taken to a Moncton hospital and later flown to Halifax.

Two people arrested at the home where the child was found were later released. No charges were laid, but Farrah did not rule out the possibility that charges may be laid in the future.

Police won't say how the two people were connected to the child.

It's not known if the methadone the girl ingested was in the home legally.

Methadone is a synthetic opiate used to treat pain and addiction to opiates, such as heroin, Dilaudid and OxyContin.

Most clients in New Brunswick methadone programs have to go to a drugstore daily to drink the liquid in front of a pharmacist. But some clients who are considered stable are allowed to take multiple doses home with them.

The so-called carries program is intended to make it easier for people on methadone to have a normal life, since treatment can take years. It allows them, for example, to work full time and go away on vacation.

Under provincial policies and procedures, people who take methadone are supposed to show their physicians the locked box they plan to keep their doses in before being granted carry privileges.

Former health minister Dennis Furlong, who has returned to his private medical practice, does not support the carry-home policy. But he said there are many drugs found in medicine cabinets that are just as toxic to children as methadone, including iron supplements for pregnant women.

"Methadone itself is no more dangerous than any other narcotic that we prescribe," Furlong said. "It is used in controlled circumstances. And if it's used accidentally by a child, then we have what we've seen in the last few days, which is very, very unfortunate."